Systems and methods for securely generating digital gift cards

ABSTRACT

A method includes accessing a swap service operating on a consumer device and authenticating a user of the consumer device based on biometric information linked to a unique user identification code that is further associated with contact information regarding the user. The method further includes retrieving, from storage, the contact information regarding the user. The method further includes automatically populating first fields of the swap service with the contact information. The method further includes generating, for utilization during a transaction by the swap service, a request for inputting first account information. The method further includes receiving a selection for the inputting and when selection is the scanning: displaying a scanner for obtaining, from a gift card, a digital representation of the first account information, encoding the first account information into a digital equivalent of the gift card, and storing the digital equivalent of the gift card in memory.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility Patent Application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 14/750,823, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING PREPAID CARDS IN A DIGITAL WALLET, INCLUDING TRANSFERRING VALUE FROM PREPAID CARDS AND MANAGING USER SELECTED ACCOUNTS”, filed Jun. 25, 2015, allowed, which is a continuation in part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/474,228, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSFERRING VALUE TO AND MANAGING USER SELECTED ACCOUNTS”, filed Sep. 1, 2014, allowed, which claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/959,873, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR TRANSFERRING VALUE TO AND MANAGING USER SELECTED ACCOUNTS”, filed Sep. 4, 2013, expired, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to computer systems and methods for transferring value from one account to another account. Specifically, the present invention relates to computer systems and methods for transferring stored value from checking or savings accounts, credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and network-branded, open-loop, closed-loop, merchant-branded, or general purpose prepaid cards, both re-loadable and non-loadable, to other accounts, including, but not limited to checking or savings accounts, debit or credit card accounts, PayPal, Amazon Payments, Venmo, online stored value accounts, brokerage accounts, reloadable cards, digital marketplaces for the sale or purchase of digital gift cards or prepaid cards, or digital wallets for other users.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Often, it would be desirable to transfer value from one or more accounts to another account. For example, the user may wish to transfer money from a gift card to a savings or checking account. In this way, the value of the funding card can be available in the account and may be spent as cash using a debit card, withdrawn as cash using an ATM card, or used to fund a personal check written against the account. In another example, the user may wish to transfer value from a credit card account to a bank account. A user also may wish to transfer money from a gift card or prepaid card to a credit card account, thus reducing the outstanding balance due on the account, or any outstanding balance (charge, revalue, lending on charge, late fees etc.) on the receiving end. A user may wish to transfer funds between more than two individuals; for example, User 1 and User 2 elect to transfer value simultaneously in an in-person context to User 3 in the form of one fluid action where the transfer amount is divided between the individuals to send funds, in this case User 1 and User 2. A user may wish to allow another individual to purchase or use the balance available on a gift card or prepaid card; for example, User 1 makes available to User 2 within a digital marketplace the balance on a gift card or prepaid card, and User 2 may elect to have that balance transferred from the digital marketplace to User 2's digital wallet. In another example, a user may wish to transfer value in the form of a loan. Systems and methods for facilitating such aforementioned transfers are highly desirable

Systems and methods for facilitating a transfer as described herein are also desirable to and benefit the various parties involved in managing and administering these types of accounts, including, but not limited to, card issuers, program administrators, sponsors, payment networks, payment processors and merchants who enable gift card programs for retail. As one example, escheatment regulation effected in many states across the United States entitles local governments to lay claim to some or all of the residual value in stored value accounts that become inactive for some period of time, and prevents the aforementioned parties from earning their full share of revenue. Conversely, the systems and methods for facilitating a transfer as outlined here not only provide some measure of guaranteed revenue to the aforementioned parties, but also a vehicle to interact with the users of these accounts that may not be available otherwise, particularly in the case of an anonymous stored value account such as an open-loop gift or closed-loop prepaid card.

One existing method of making payments is PayPal. PayPal is directed primarily at Internet sales and purchasing. This service allows transfers using a credit or debit card, cash or check. However, transfers must be made to on-line accounts that the users have created through the PayPal system. Thus, it requires signing up for and verification of amounts using the PayPal system and transferring funds through the PayPal system prior to transfer to the desired account or availability to the user. Additionally, PayPal does not permit parties involved in managing and administering stored value accounts to interact with consumers through the PayPal system because they may not participate without permission by setting up a PayPal account, and even so are limited in interactions with consumers.

The existing technology for payments does not allow users to quickly transfer value from one or more accounts to another account in their own name unless all accounts reside within the same financial institution, thereby creating a business challenge that is particular to the banking and financial services worlds. Technology exists to load value onto prepaid cards, but not off such cards. Accordingly, there remains a continuing need for a method that allows users to transfer value from one or more accounts to other user-selected accounts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for transferring value from a funding account to a receiving account according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a flow diagram of a routine for inputting and submitting a transfer request according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a flow diagram of a routine for submitting and completing a user requested transfer of value according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 3A-3I illustrate exemplary screen shots for the swap service according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a wireframe diagram depicting operation of the user side of the swap service in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a routine for retrieving the balances of the user's prepaid cards.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a routine for creating a digital equivalent of a card.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a routine for a method of using a digital equivalent for payment.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a routine for a method of facilitating interaction between a merchant and user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a brief summary of the innovation in order to provide a basic understanding of the aspects of the innovation. This summary is not an extended overview and is not intended to cover each and every element of the innovation or to limit its scope. A more detailed description is presented later.

The innovation disclosed and claimed herein relates to methods, systems and computer readable storage media that allow transferring value from one account to another. The methods may be consumer or merchant driven and may involve transferring value to peers, oneself, or a third party account holder with or without the creation of a user account. For example, in one aspect, value is transferred from a first account to a second account using a consumer device by accessing a swap service through a consumer device that is communicatively linked to a remote system, said remote system communicatively linked to a transfer network, requesting funding transaction information including at least the identity of a funding account and a transaction amount from a user through a first user interface displayed by the consumer device, accepting the funding transaction information input through the first user interface, establishing an escrow account with a financial affiliate and issuing an escrow account identification code, submitting the funding transaction information and the escrow account identification and an authorization code to the funding account issuer system as a submission, receiving a submission payment in the amount of the transaction amount from the funding account issuer system into the escrow account, determining a transfer amount based on the funding transaction information, requesting receiving account information including at least the identity of the receiving account from a user through a second user interface, accepting the receiving account information input through the second user interface, providing transfer instructions including at least the receiving account information and the transfer amount and escrow account identification code to the receiving account issuer system causing a transfer of value to the receiving account. In addition, the requested transfer may be completed through an automated clearing house (ACH) transfer from a financial institution that issues the funding account directly to the financial affiliate.

In one aspect, the funding account may be a checking account, a savings account, a brokerage account, an open loop card account, a closed loop card account, a debit card, a prepaid card, a debit card account, a credit card account, a gift card, a cash card, a check card, a prepaid credit card, a merchant-branded stored value account, a stored value card, a stored value certificate, a payroll card, (for cards such as gift cards or prepaid cards, it may be either a physical card or a digital equivalent), while the receiving account may be a bank account, a credit card account, a debit card account, a brokerage account, a debit card account, open loop card account, closed loop card account, a brokerage account, PayPal account, crypto currency account, a merchant-branded stored value account or other stored value account or certificate. In another aspect, the funding account information or receiving account information, or both, is input by voice commands, extraction of information from a photo or video using optical character recognition or radio frequency identification (RFID), or a combination of the methods.

In another aspect, the transfer is completed through an automated clearing house (ACH), the funding account issuer's BillPay service, an intra-bank transfer, an automated teller machine (ATM) network, a crypto-currency service, or through another stored value network or service. In other aspects, the transfer may be completed through the conversion of the net transfer amount into loyalty points in a third party system based on a conversion factor associated with a difference in net transfer amount and an assigned second value of said loyalty points, and creating, by said remote system, said net transfer amount to said third party; through a virtual wallet established by radio frequency identification (RFID); through near field communication (NFC), through Bluetooth low energy (BLE), through a wireless network, through a personal area network (PAN), or other computer network. In one aspect, the user is identified using biometric information.

In one aspect, the innovation allows transfer of value for servicing a loan agreement by inputting loan terms including at least a loan amount, an interest rate, a payment schedule and a late fee schedule through a user interface displayed by the consumer device. In another aspect, the method also includes inputting user data points through a user interface displayed by a consumer device, submitting said data points to a third party service to validate the user's identity, submitting said data points to potential lenders to determine an approved loan amount, and presenting the user with an approved loan amount, any fees that are associated with the loan, and instructions for the application of fees and interest upon the expiration of the loan term.

In another aspect, the innovation allows for the creation of a digital equivalent representing the information and value on a card. The service transmits the funding account information to an aggregator service for validation, receives validation of card information, and encodes the card information. The digital equivalent may be used as a form of payment. In one aspect, this occurs by generation of a barcode that is scanned at the point of service for payment. In another aspect, the card information is transmitted for use in payment by, for example, radio frequency identification (RFID), near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth low energy (BLE), wireless network, personal area network (PAN), other computer network, or other transmission at point-of-sale. In another aspect, the service provides the user with notifications when their mobile device is in a certain proximity to a physical location where a consumer may use the digital equivalent for purchases.

In another aspect, the innovation allows for retrieving balances on prepaid cards by accessing a swap service through a consumer device, inputting prepaid card identifying information through a user interface displayed on the consumer device, transmitting the prepaid card information to an aggregator service for balance validation, receiving validation of card information, transmitting a request for balance information to the aggregator service, receiving balance information from the aggregator service and displaying balance information and transaction history to the user through the user interface. All of the above aspects may be implemented through computer executable instructions found on a computer readable storage media.

The present invention is rooted in computer technology describing an improvement to system configurations of payment networks in order to overcome the problems specified herein arising in the realm of the payment networks supporting the banking and financial services worlds. Particular illustrations are described in connection with the following descriptions and the annexed drawings. These illustrations are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the innovation can be employed. Other advantages will be readily apparent from the detailed description that follows. The subject innovation is intended to include all aspects and equivalents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can be better understood from the following description of preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments of the present invention provided herein are merely exemplary and illustrative and not limiting.

The present invention is directed to a novel and non-obvious systems and methods for transferring value from a funding account to a user-selected account and facilitating use of the value of the funding account. The user-selected account also may be referred to as a receiving account. Value will most commonly be monetary value. However, value may be anything of monetary worth that may be exchanged for goods or services.

Funding accounts may take various forms in different embodiments of the invention. In one embodiment, the funding account is a checking account, savings account, brokerage account or the like. In another embodiment, it may be a card account. Examples of such card accounts include, but are not limited to, debit card accounts, credit card accounts, open-loop prepaid (OLP) cards or any card that stores value and allows a user to exchange the value stored on the card for products, goods, services or the like. A card may be a gift card, cash card, check card, prepaid credit card, stored value card, payroll card, or the like. A card may be prepaid or non-prepaid. A card may also be reloadable or non-reloadable. Receiving accounts may take various forms in different embodiments of the present invention. Such receiving accounts may include any account to which value can be transferred. Such receiving accounts include at least bank accounts, credit card accounts, brokerage accounts, PayPal accounts, a debit card account, open loop card account, closed loop card account, a brokerage account, PayPal account, loyalty and/or rewards accounts, crypto currency account, or other stored value account, or the like.

In accordance with the present invention, transfers and functionality are facilitated through a swap service. The swap service facilitates the transfer of funds from one or more accounts to one or more other accounts and the other functions provided herein. The swap service provides instructions to a consumer device and collects transfer information and provides the transfer information and transfer instructions to the consumer device. The consumer device communicates the transfer information and transfer instructions to a remote system that authorizes, settles and funds the transfer by communicating with appropriate financial networks. After the transactions are authorized, the swap service acts as a merchant, charging the funding account for the requested amount. The requested transfer is then completed through an automated clearing house (ACH), a funding account issuer's BillPay service, intra-bank transfer, automated teller machine (ATM) network, crypto-currency service, or other stored value network or service. In other embodiments, the transfer may be completed through a virtual wallet established by radio frequency identification (RFID), near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth low energy (BLE), wireless network, personal area network (PAN), or other computer network.

In another aspect, the swap service allows for the creation of a digital equivalent of a gift card or prepaid card for use in a virtual wallet. Gift card or prepaid card information is input through the swap service user interface as described elsewhere herein. Based on that information, the swap service facilitates validation of the card information by transmitting the gift card or prepaid card information, including of the amount present on the card to an aggregator service, issuer of the card or the like for validation. After receiving validation, the card information is encoded into a digital equivalent of the gift card which may be stored on the consumer device. The digital equivalent may take the form of a bar code that renders on a consumer device and may be scanned by a bar code scanner, or any number of alternative renderings of the card information which may be transmitted and used as a form of payment by means of barcode scanning, radio frequency identification (RFID), near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth low energy (BLE), wireless network, personal area network (PAN), other computer network, or other transmission of card information at point-of-sale. After a financial transaction is completed using the digital equivalent, the swap service retrieves an updated value of the gift card and updates the gift card balance in the digital wallet and the account of the user of the consumer device.

The digital equivalent may also be used in a digital marketplace where cards or digital equivalents can be exchanged. A user may wish to list a card or digital equivalent in the digital wallet for sale or to exchange with another user's card or digital equivalent. Pertinent information regarding the card or digital equivalent (with the exclusion of information that would permit fraud and or improper redemption of the card and/or digital equivalent) is listed on the marketplace. Upon an agreement between the two users, the swap service can transfer the digital equivalent of the card from the seller to the buyer, who can then use the digital equivalent. In the case of an exchange, the card information or digital equivalent transaction can be exchanged between the two users. The transferred information contains all the information pertinent to enabling a financial transaction with the corresponding card or digital equivalent. The financial account of the first user is updated with the value of the second card or digital equivalent and the financial account of the second user with the value of the first card or digital equivalent. Upon completion of the exchange, the listing is removed from the marketplace.

In another aspect, the innovation allows for merchants to derive additional advantages from the transfer of value from their own stored value accounts by obtaining demographic and use data on the end-user of a stored value account, opening a line of communication with the end-user of a stored value account, creating a two-way cash-in network for the purchase or reload of new or existing stored value accounts, reducing the risk of fraudulent activity on existing stored value accounts, and controlling the presentation of a merchant brand to end-users of stored value accounts. When a user completes a transfer using the methods outlined in the present invention from a closed-loop or merchant-branded stored value account or certificate, various user details relevant to merchant marketing and operations may be recorded and shared with the merchant, including but not limited to, personal responses to survey questions displayed to the user during the transfer process, the transaction type, transaction details and parameters, or historical transaction data, geographical location.

Optionally, the merchant may send correspondence to the user through the swap service either during or after a transfer that results in further engagement or transactions with the merchant on behalf of the user. Additionally, the merchant may elect to support transfer into new or existing stored value accounts, with optional incentives affording to new or existing users for transferring value via the swap service. Optionally, the merchant may elect to support a transfer that allows users to re-gift a card to a single friend or multiple friends, or to use the funds on a gift card to purchase a gift card and send to a recipient. Additionally, the merchant may elect to support a transfer that allows users to donate value from a gift card to a charity. By utilizing the secure and verified swap service for these transfers instead of a proprietary system or otherwise, the merchant can reduce the risk of fraudulent activity as well as the risk that a user's perception of the brand will be diluted.

Further to the merchant/user interaction, the swap service may present contextual prompts and notifications based on information provided by the user and the merchant that identify nearby merchants accepting the merchant gift card for payment, as well as notification provided to users to use a merchant's gift card when near specific locations where a consumer may use the gift card or digital equivalent for purchases. Such notification may be in the form of email, SMS, MIMS, automated phone call, or any other method that a mobile device may notify the use of the proximity of an exchange opportunity. Such geofence based alert systems, which include but are not limited to the systems set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 8,755, 824, can be readily incorporated into the present systems by those of skill in the art.

Using the swap service, two users can easily negotiate and execute a loan agreement and fund transfers in accordance with the loan terms. In such an embodiment, User 1, the lender, and User 2, the borrower, negotiate the terms of a loan. Such terms may include the loan amount, the number of days until the loan matures and is due, an interest rate and a late fee schedule. User 1 and User 2 would provide funding account information and receiving account information in the swap service and initiate the transfer. Based on the user inputted information, the swap service facilitates withdrawal of funds equal to the loan principal from the funding/lending account and places the funds in a bank escrow account. When the loan payment is due, the receiving/borrowing account is automatically debited for the loan principal plus interest and any agreed upon fees. The funds then are transferred from the escrow account to the receiving/borrowing account. If the transfer fails the receiving account will be debited again plus a fee equal to the fee schedule.

The swap service also may facilitate payday and instantaneous loans using an instant application process. The user provides data points such as credit card information, bank account information, employment and paystub information, and other personal information through the swap service interface. Based on this user-provided information, the swap service contacts third party services such as a social network and validates the user's identity. Upon a successful application process, the swap service presents the user with an approved loan amount, the fees that are associated with the loan, and instructions for the application of fees and interest upon the expiration of the loan term. Upon the user's acceptance of the loan amount, associated fees and instructions, the swap service facilitates transfer of the loan amount into a user selected account. In most cases, the user would be able to use the transferred funds instantly but some cases may require further data validation based on applicable credit rating policies. After the loan term expires, the swap service will, per the instructions, facilitate automatic transfer of the loan amount and any applicable fees and interest from the borrower's account to an enterprise merchant account. Prior to the transfer, the swap service may cause an automated servicing e-mail to be sent to the borrower in advance, reminding the borrower that the repayment will take place at the agreed upon time and date.

The swap service also may facilitate lower-than-market cost cross-market exchanges between users in international markets using currency reserves. For example, when User 1, based in the United Kingdom, transfers value in British pounds to User 2, based in the United States, which results in a converted credit of United States dollars, the swap service will recognize, based on the home country in which each user has a linked financial institution account, that a cross-market transfer is being facilitated. The swap service will access current exchange rates and disclose the exchange rate and applicable fees to each user. User 1 can acknowledge the disclosure and accept the rate and applicable fees. The exchange rate also may be manually modified if needed or desired and the swap service will display the difference between the actual market exchange rate and the modified exchange rate. Upon acceptance of fees and terms, the swap service facilitates transfer of the funds from User l's funding account to a merchant account based in that same country, facilitates transfer of the converted amount to a merchant bank in User 2's country, and facilitates transfer of the value to User 2's account. The funds become available for use to User 2 upon successful transfer.

The swap service also may function as a payments front-end and account management tool with a supporting third party bank. In such an embodiment, the swap service would have access to user bank accounts and may be used to transfer funds in and out of their account, access BillPay, use ATMs (after receiving an associated card) as well as utilize the core swap services (prepaid transfer, credit card transfer, currency transfer, payday loans, peer to peer loans). Users would be able to order (via mail) or pick up in-store their own card but also may receive inactive, unassigned cards or be given an electronic payment instrument. The inactive, unassigned cards may be activated in real-time using a phone or computer and handed over to another user. The account may be set up as a sub-account of the primary swap service account holder (User 1), and may be given to a sub-account holder (User 2). The account may also be set up as a new account that is separate from the User 1's account. User 2's activity may be visible or invisible to the primary account holder (depending on the desired configuration) and User 2 could access and manage their sub-account through the same swap service interface, personalized for User 2. User 1 and User 2 may also transfer funds back-and-forth between their accounts. At any juncture, the primary account holder can electronically (by electronic transfer of stored value on the card to another individual) or manually (by handing over the card to a new user) designate another user or individual as the new primary account holder, allowing the value of these cards to transfer fluidly at the discretion of the individual who owns the card and associated stored value at any given time.

The swap service also may offer an application and web browser experience that allows users to send a financial gift electronically to another individual of their choice. In this case, User A (sender) select the denomination they wish to gift to another user, User B (receiver). User A will fill out personal information fields for KYC validation and select a funding source (open loop prepaid card, credit card, debit card, PayPal, bank account). Then, User A populates basic information fields allowing the swap service to identify User B, including their first name, last name, and e-mail address. After User A completes the sending action by finalizing the sending amount, User A's funding account is authorized and charged, and funds transfer from the sender's account into a special purpose account run by the swap service, awaiting claim from User B. Next, User B accesses their swap service financial gift via the electronic link provided in an e-mail notification sent by the swap service. User B will fill out personal information fields for KYC validation and select an account in which to receive funds (e.g., credit card or bank account). After final confirmation of User B's desire to receive the funds, the funds residing in the special purpose account transfer to User B's designated receiving account. User A receives a trigger electronic notification that the gift has been officially redeemed by User B.

The swap service also may provide the user with balance information for the user's prepaid cards. The swap service stores uniform resource locators (URLs) for checking balances for prepaid cards from certain issuers (such as Vanilla or American Express). The swap service then uses user inputted data (credit card number, expiration, card identification (CID) number) to crawl card issuer web pages and retrieves balance information based on the user inputted information. The swap service also may use the user submitted and retrieved information to auto populate fields within the swap service and display card balance when the user is entering a transfer amount within the swap service.

The consumer device may take several forms and may be any device that is capable of communicating information to the remote system. In one embodiment the consumer device is a mobile device such as a phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet, or the like. In another embodiment, the consumer device is a personal computer such as a laptop computer or desktop computer. In another embodiment the consumer device is an Apple iPhone or phone running the Android operating system. In various embodiments, the swap service may be an application or program installed on the consumer device. In other embodiments, the swap service may be a remotely stored application or program that displays on the consumer device. In another embodiment, the swap service is accessed through the web browser of the consumer device.

In various embodiments, the remote system may include a server computer and a transaction processor. Some or all of these may be part of third party systems. For example, BancBox and VisaNet offer third party systems that communicate with financial networks and systems and financial affiliates for processing, settling and funding the transactions provided herein according to instructions provided by the swap service via the consumer device. Application program interfaces (APIs), software development kits and code for communicating with such third party systems are available and known in the art for a variety of computer languages.

In some embodiments of the invention, a user can be identified using biometric information. Such biometric information may include, for example, fingerprints, handprints, voice recognition, facial recognition, iris or retina scans, or any other factor that is personally unique. The biometric information may be used to authenticate the user of the swap service. In addition, the biometric information may be linked to a unique user identification code that is linked to the user's information. This will add an additional layer of security to the swap service. Systems and methods for biometric recognition are known in the art. Examples of such methods and systems can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,260,008, 8,275,175, U.S. Patent App. No. 2013/0129162, EP 0976087 and the references cited therein, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Software development kits (SDKs) for integrating biometric identification recognition systems into the local systems of the present invention are available in the art.

In some embodiments, instructions for carrying out the various steps of the transfer process may be in the form of computer-executable instructions stored on a computer readable medium. The consumer device may contain a computer readable medium that contains instructions to direct the consumer device to perform the methods of the present invention. For example, the computer readable medium may contain computer code that instructs the consumer device to launch the swap service from the memory of the consumer device. In addition, the computer readable medium may include instructions for the consumer device to prompt the user to provide transfer information, instruction for the consumer device to provide a scanner for inputting card information, or instructions for the consumer device to submit information to the remote system.

In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions are stored on a computer readable medium installed on the local system such as the internal storage, microprocessor or SD card found in a mobile device such as a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet or the like. The computer-executable instructions also may be stored on other computer readable medium such as a universal serial bus (USB) drive, SD card or CD-ROM. In other embodiments, computer-executable instructions are stored on a server computer system and accessed via a communications link or a computer network, such as an intranet, the Internet, or another computer network.

Certain specific details are set forth in the following description and in FIGS. 1-5 to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the invention. Because the basic structures and functions related to computer-readable routines and corresponding implementations are known, including linking to remote systems to provide information and instruction regarding authorization, funding and settlement of financial transactions, they have not been shown or described in detail here in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the described embodiments. In addition, some well-known structures and systems often associated with computer networks have not been shown or described in detail below to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the various embodiments of the invention. In addition, although not described in each instance, typically, all of the communications and transfers between the components in any of the systems or networks depicted herein are encrypted. Those of ordinary skill in the relevant art will understand, however, that the invention may have additional embodiments which may be practiced without several of the details described below. In other instances, those of ordinary skill in the relevant art will appreciate that the methods and systems described can include additional details without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts exemplary embodiments of the value transfer system 100. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 comprises a local system 101, a remote system 102 and a transfer network 103. The local system 101 includes a consumer device 104 and a swap service 105. The consumer device 104 is communicatively linked to the swap service 105. In one embodiment, the swap service 105 is installed locally on the consumer device 104 as a program or application. In another embodiment, the consumer device 104 includes a microprocessor and a computer readable media on which the code for the swap service 105 is installed. In another embodiment, the swap service 105 may be accessed by the consumer device 104 through a cellular network, a wired or wireless network, via the internet, through a web client or interface, as software as a service (SaaS) or through local or wide area networks.

The transfer process begins with a user calling up the swap service 105 on the consumer device 104. The swap service 105 requests the user to input the transfer request amount and to identify the funding account. The user may input the information manually. This may be done using the consumer device keyboard or a keyboard associated with the swap service 105. In some embodiments, the information may be input through voice commands. In another embodiment, the consumer device 104 includes an optical device that may receive a picture or video of the funding card. In still other embodiments, the information is input through radio frequency identification (RFID). The information will be stored on servers for possible later retrieval in the event the user wishes to create an account. The consumer device 104 may then process the image and extract the funding card information using optical character recognition (OCR). Such information may include the user's name, funding account number, expiration date, unique card identification number and the like. Software development kits (SDKs) that allow scanning of cards to retrieve the card information are known in the art. One such SDK is available from card.io. In one embodiment, the user system 101 may request the user to enter additional user contact information such as the user's name, email, financial information, employment information, paystub information and the like. The consumer device 104 stores the user-inputted information.

The local system 101 is communicatively linked to the remote system 102 through a communications link 105. The remote system 102 may include data processing subsystems, networks, and operations used to support and deliver authorization services, exception file services, and clearing and settlement services. In the embodiment depicted, the remote system comprises a server computer 107 and a transaction processor 108. The server computer 107 may additionally include a database 112 for storing data. In certain embodiments, remote system 102 may be part of a third party system. Exemplary third party systems are those offered by BancBox and VisaNet. The communications link 106 may be a cellular network, an intranet, a wired or wireless network, the internet, a local or wide area network.

The remote system 102 is communicatively linked to a transfer network 103. Typically, a transfer network 103 will include, but is not limited to, a financial affiliate system 109, a funding account issuer system 110 or a receiving account issuer system 111. The financial affiliate system 109, funding account issuer system 110 and the receiving account issuer system 111 may be part of any of the networks that a funding account or a receiving account uses to provide authorizations, settle or clear financial transactions or transfers. Examples of such networks include VISA, NOVA and Automated Clearing House (ACH).

The data exchanges between the consumer device 104 and the server computer 107 are dependent on user-selected functions available through and provided by the swap service 105. Based on the user submitted information, the consumer device 104 provides instructions to server computer 107 to request authorization of the requested transaction from the appropriate funding account issuer system 110.

In some embodiments of the invention, a service provider fee will be charged to one of the users. In such instances, the swap service 105 will determine a net transfer amount (the requested transfer amount less the service provider fee) which may include a monthly subscription fee for a preset number of transfers, and a service provider fee amount. In such instances, the swap service 105 may provide a message informing the user of the fee and requesting acceptance of such fee. In some embodiments of the invention, interest rates and late fees may be charged. The server computer 107 stores the card information, a user identification and password, requested transfer amount and any service provider fee or user-designated fee and sends the information to the transaction processor 108. The transaction processor 108 routes the request to the correct funding account issuer system 108 according to information provided by the server computer 107. In some embodiments of the invention, a currency reserve will be utilized to facilitate cross-market exchanges.

Typically, all communications and/or data exchanges described herein are encrypted to preserve privacy and ensure the security of the information, data and user accounts and at each step of the process the receiving system or component will unencrypt the information it receives and encrypt the information it sends. For clarity and to not obscure the description, the steps of unencrypting and encrypting data and information have been omitted from the description of the transfers.

If the funding account issuer system 110 authorizes the transaction, the funding account issuer system 110 will provide an authorization code to the transaction processor 108. In some embodiments, the timing of transfers can be increased by using reserve funds held by the swap service in a merchant-owned electronic account, where the service uses certain data points provided by users, to create a risk profile of the user. In some embodiments, a success message also may be provided to the user through the swap service 105. The transaction processor 108 provides the message and authorization code to the server computer 107. The server computer 107 stores the authorization code and communicates with the consumer device 104, which communicates with the user through the swap service 105. In some embodiments, a message will be returned to the swap service 105 informing the user if the transfer request was accepted or denied. In other embodiments, an email or text message may be returned to the user.

Upon receipt of the transfer authorization, the swap service 105 will request receiving account information from the user. The user may input the receiving account information manually or by scanning a receiving account card. In some embodiments, the swap service 105 may request additional contact information including, without limitation name, email and billing zip code. The user submitted information is stored in the consumer device 104 and the swap service 105 instructs the consumer device 104 to submit the information with instructions to the server computer 107 to begin the settlement and funding process. The server computer 107 receives and stores the receiving account information and transfer amount. The server computer 107 sends the receiving account information and processor keys to the transaction processor 108 and the transaction processor 108 routes the request to the correct receiving account issuer system 111. If the receiving account issuer system 111 authorizes the transaction a success message and an authorization code is returned to the transaction processor 108.

The transaction processor 108 sends the authorization message and authorization code to the server computer 107. The server computer 107 stores the authorization code with the receiving account information and transfer amount. In some embodiments, the server computer 107 triggers an email to the user. The consumer device 104 receives successful authorization message from the server computer 107 which may be displayed on the swap service 105.

The server computer 107 retrieves the funding account information and sends the funding account information, the transaction amount and the authorization code to the transaction processor 108 as a submission. The transaction processor 108 receives the funding card information, transaction amount and authorization code and sends it to the funding account issuer system 110 as a submission. The funding account issuer system 110 receives the funding account information and the transaction amount and processes the submission. The funding account issuer sends the submission payment in the amount of the transaction request back to the transaction processor 108 with the funding account information. The transaction processor 108 sends the submission payment to the server computer 107 with the funding account information.

The server computer 107 retrieves the receiving account information plus the net transfer amount, together with the amount of any service provider fees or user-designated fees, from the server computer database 112. The server computer 107 assigns a temporary escrow account identification code to the receiving account information and the transaction amount, allocates the service provider fee, if any, to a service provider identification code, stores the temporary escrow account identification code, the receiving account information and the net transfer amount. The server computer 107 sends the receiving account information, net transfer amount, temporary escrow account identification code and the service provider identification code and the service provider fees to the financial affiliate 109. The financial affiliate 109 deposits the net transfer amount in a temporary escrow account and deposits the service provider fees in the service provider account using the service provider identification code. The financial affiliate 109 sends the temporary escrow account identification code and the net transfer amount to the server computer 107. The server computer 107 retrieves the receiving account information and the net transfer amount from the server computer database 112. The server computer 107 transfers the information to the transaction processor 108 with BillPay instructions. The transaction processor 108 sends the receiving account information and the net transfer amount and to correct receiving account issuer system 111 with a BillPay ISO code. The receiving account issuer system 111 processes payment to the receiving account based on the BillPay ISO code. The receiving account issuer system 111 returns the receiving account information and a success response code to the transaction processor 108. The transaction processor 108 sends the receiving account information and the success response code to the server computer 107 which server computer 107 records said receiving account information and success response code in the server computer database 112. The server computer 107 may send a trigger email to the user that the transfer has cleared.

In another embodiment of the value transfer system depicted in FIG. 1, the authorization process occurs through a financial institution 113 that issued the stored value card. In this embodiment of the value transfer system, before the funding account issuer system 110 authorizes the transaction the server computer 107 communicates through a financial affiliate 109 with the financial institution 113 associated with the funding account issuer system 110 that controls an authorization code passed from the financial affiliate 109 to the financial institution 113 to the funding account issuer system 110 and then to the transaction processor 108. In such embodiments, a transfer network 103 typically will include, but is not limited to, a financial affiliate system 109, a funding account issuer system 110 or a receiving account issuer system 111. The financial affiliate system 109, funding account issuer system 110 and the receiving account issuer system 111 may be part of any of the networks that a funding account or a receiving account uses to provide authorizations, settle or clear financial transactions or transfers.

FIG. 2A is a flow diagram depicting a routine 200 that operates the swap service 105 through authorization of the funding request. The method may begin at step 201 where the user starts program by accessing the swap service 105 from the consumer device 104. This may be accomplished by clicking on the program saved locally in the consumer device 104 or by accessing the swap service 105 through a web browser. At 202, the swap service 105 displays a request for a funding transaction amount. After the user enters the transaction amount, the swap service 105 requests identification of the type of funding account at 203. In some embodiments, the swap service 105 may also request acceptance of service provider fees or user-designated fees associated with the transfer. Service provider fees may be a flat fee or a percentage of the transfer amount. User-designated fees may be late fees or interest rates. In embodiments where a service provider fee is charged, the swap service 105 may display a message disclosing the service provider fee amount and request that the user confirm and accept the service provider fee. At 204 the swap service 105 requests input of the funding card information. In some embodiments, the funding card information may be input manually, including the manual input of a credit card's CID number. In other embodiments, the funding card information is scanned. If manual input is selected, the swap service 105 may display a keyboard and input fields at 205. If scan input is selected, the scanner is displayed at 206. The scanner captures the card and displays the card information to the user at 207. The swap service 105 stores the card information at 208. At 209, the swap service 105 requests the user's contact information and displays a keyboard and submit button. The contact information may include the user's name, billing zip code and email. When complete, the user taps the submit button. In some embodiments this information may be stored in the swap service cache. At 210, the card information is sent to the swap service cache in the consumer device 104. At 211, the swap service encrypts the card information and sends the card information to the remote system 102 with the transfer amount less any service provider fee (net transfer amount) with instructions for obtaining authorization. The user request is then routed to the funding account issuer system 110 for authorization. At 212, the swap service 105 receives a message from the remote system 102 accepting the transfer request or declining the transfer request. If the transfer request is declined, the routine ends. If the transfer request is authorized, the swap service 105 runs the routine depicted in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 2B is a flow diagram depicting a routine 220 that operates the swap service 105 to complete funding of the transfer request once authorization of the transfer is obtained. If an authorization message is received, the swap service 105 displays a request to identify the receiving account type at 221. At 222, the swap service 105 displays a request for the receiving account information. At 223, the swap service 105 will provide the user with the option of inputting the card information manually or scanning the card information. If manual input is selected, a keyboard and input fields are provided at 224. If scan input is selected, the swap service loads the scanner at 225. At 226, the card is captured and card information is displayed. At 227 the card information is stored. At 228, the swap service 105 requests the user's contact information and displays a submit button. The contact information may include the user's name, billing zip code and email. In some embodiments, the user contact information may have been stored in the swap service cache when previously entered and may be recalled by the swap service 105. When complete, the user taps the submit button at 229. At 230, the card information is sent to the swap service cache in the consumer device 104. At 231, the swap service 105 encrypts the card information and sends the receiving card information plus the net transfer amount (requested transfer amount less any service provider fees) to the remote system 102. The remote system 102 performs the necessary transactions with, for example, financial institutions and credit card issuers to authorize the transaction, establish any necessary escrow accounts, settle the transaction and transfer the value to the receiving account based on the user inputted information. At 232, the swap service 105 receives a message from the remote system 102 indicating a successful or unsuccessful transfer and may display a message indicating whether or not the transfer was successful. At 233, the swap service loads a success screen indicated that the transfer was completed successfully.

FIGS. 3A-3I illustrate exemplary screenshots of the swap service 105 according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3A depicts an exemplary screen shot of the transfer request screen 300 of the swap service 105. In this embodiment, the swap service 105 presents a request for the user to input a transfer amount 301, a transaction amount indicator 302, a transfer request entry button 303, a submit button 304 (here, presented as a “SWAP” button”) and a keyboard 305. All buttons described in this application may be presented as virtual buttons on a consumer device with a touch screen. In this embodiment, the transaction amount indicator 302 identifies the fees associated with the transaction. A user may enter the transfer amount in the transaction amount indicator 302 by using the keyboard 305.

FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary screen shot of an updated transfer request screen 310 following the user entry of the transfer amount according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3B, the transaction amount indicator 302 has been updated to reflect the transfer request amount and the fees associated with the transfer. In this embodiment, the user may indicate acceptance of this amount by touching the transfer request entry button 303.

FIG. 3C illustrates an exemplary screen shot of a select fee payment screen 320 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The transfer request amount plus the fees is indicated in the transaction amount indicator 302. In some embodiments, where there is a disclosure of fees, the swap service may provide the disclosure of such fees followed by an option to choose which user (sender or receiver) is responsible for paying the fees. The swap service 105 presents a fee addition button 321, an input button 322 and a fee deduction button 323.

FIG. 3D illustrates an exemplary screen shot of a funding account type screen 330 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The swap service 105 presents options to the user regarding what account the user would like to use as the funding account. In this embodiment, the user may select funding the transfer with a credit card, a checking account, or a debit card by selecting the credit card button 331, checking account button 332, or debit card button 333 on the swap service 105.

FIG. 3E illustrates an exemplary screen shot of a funding account information input screen 340 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Here, following the selection of the account that the user wishes to use to fund the transfer, the swap service 105 will request input of the funding card information. In this embodiment, the swap service 105 presents a manual input button 341 and a scanning input button 342. The user may select the input option and either manually input the funding card information or scan the funding card so that the swap service 105 may discern the card information.

FIG. 3F illustrates an exemplary screen shot of a funding user contact information request screen 350 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the swap service 105 displays input selections for the user's name 351, the funding card number 352, billing zip code 354, funding card identification (CID) 353 and email address 355. The swap service 105 may also present a keyboard 358 to allow the user to input the user's contact information. Such information may also be retrieved from storage based on the user's biometric information.

FIG. 3G illustrates an exemplary screen shot of a receiving account type screen 360 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The swap service 105 presents options to the user regarding what account the user would like to use as the receiving account. In this embodiment, the user may select transfer to a credit card, a checking account, or a PayPal account by selecting the credit card button 361, checking account button 362, or PayPal account button 363 on the swap service 105.

FIG. 3H illustrates an exemplary screen shot of the receiving account information input screen 370 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Here, following the selection of the account that the user wishes to use to receive the transfer, the swap service 105 will request input of the receiving card information. In this embodiment, the swap service 105 presents a manual input button 371 and a scanning input button 372. The user may select the input option and either manually input the funding card information or scan the funding card so that the swap service 105 may discern the card information.

FIG. 3I illustrates an exemplary screen shot of a receiving user contact information request screen 380 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The swap service 105 may request input selections for the user's name 381, the funding card number 382, funding card identification (CID) 383, billing zip code 384 and email address 385. In this embodiment, the swap service 105 queries the user as to whether the receiving user information is the same as the funding user information 386. If the user presses the “YES” button 387, the swap service 105 retrieves the previously entered and stored funding user account information and copies it into the receiving account user information. If the user presses the “NO” button, the user may be prompted to enter the new receiving user account information. The swap service 105 may also present a keyboard 358 to allow the user to input the user's contact information. The user may present the information to complete the transfer by pressing the “SWAP” button 389 which submits the transfer information.

FIG. 4 depicts a wireframe diagram 400 of operation of the service in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the swap service 105 presents an introductory screen 401 to the user with a button for entry of a transfer amount. The user may elect to transfer by pressing the transfer amount button which prompts the swap service 105 to present a transfer amount screen 402 with a field for entering the transfer amount. In the depicted embodiment, the swap service 105 also figures the service and/or user fees to be charged based on coding in the service and presents the user with notice of the fees to be charged and the net transfer amount. The user may elect to continue with the transfer by selecting the continue button. Upon the user's election to continue, the swap service 105 presents a funding card information screen 403 that includes input fields for a funding card and the option to scan the funding card. If the user elects to scan the funding card information, a scanning screen 404 will be displayed. Scanning screen 404 includes a display area and a capture button. The user uses the camera on the consumer device 104 and scans the card by depressing the capture button. The user is returned to screen 403 where the card information fields are now populated based on the scanned information. The user may accept the scanned information by depressing the continue button. Upon user acceptance, the swap service 105 presents a recipient information screen 406 to the user. The recipient information screen 406 presents input fields to identify the funds recipient together with the continue button. Following entry of the recipient information, the user depresses the continue button and the swap service 105 presents a funding card identification screen 407 to the user. Buttons on the funding card identification screen 407 provide options regarding identification of the receiving account type. In the depicted embodiment, credit card and checking account are presented but, as demonstrated elsewhere in this application, receiving accounts are not limited to prepaid cards and checking accounts. Upon the user's selection of a receiving account type, the swap service 105 presents a card input screen 408 or an account input screen 409. The card input screen 408 presents input fields for manual entry of the card information or the option to scan the receiving card. If the user elects to scan the card, the swap service 105 will present the scanning screen to the user, the user will scan the card and the swap service 105 will extract the card information and populate the card information input fields. Once the card fields are populated, the user presses the continue button which brings the user to confirmation screen 410. Confirmation screen 410 presents a confirmation message and a complete swap button to the user. The user may accept the transfer by pressing the complete swap button. The service then carries out the swap in accordance with instructions coded in the swap service and the information provided by the user. If the swap is successful, the swap service 105 presents success screen 411 to the user together with the option to enter an email address or phone number to which a receipt may be sent. If the swap fails, the swap service 105 presents a failure screen 405 to the user. All buttons described in this application may be presented as virtual buttons on a consumer device with a touch screen.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a routine 500 that operates the swap service 105 for retrieving the user's prepaid card balances. The method may begin at step 501 where the user starts program by accessing the swap service 105 from the consumer device 104. This may be accomplished by clicking on the program saved locally in the consumer device 104 or by accessing the swap service 105 through a web browser. At 502, the swap service 105 displays an option to check card balances. When the user elects to check card balances, the swap service 105 will request input of the card information at 503 with an option to enter the card information by scanning or manually. If manual input is selected, the swap service 105 may display a keyboard and input fields at 504. If scan input is selected, the scanner is displayed at 505. The scanner captures the card and displays the card information to the user at 506. The swap service 105 stores the card information at 507. At 508, the swap service 105 transmits the card information to an aggregator service, which is a remote server as depicted in FIG. 1, for balance validation. In some instances, the card balance may not be successfully retrieved based on card information obtained by scanning. If the card balance is not successfully retrieved, the swap service 105 will provide the user with the option to manually enter the card information at 504. Based on the provided information, the aggregator service identifies the financial institution associated with the card number based on issuer-specific criteria and the aggregator service contacts the prepaid Card issuer for validation of card information. The swap service 105 will display a success message or error message depending on whether the card information is valid or invalid at 509. If the card information is valid, the swap service 105 will request the balance information from the aggregator service at 510. At 511, the swap service 105 receives balance information from the aggregator service and displays the information to the user at 512. At 513, the routine ends.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a routine 600 for creating a digital equivalent of a card. At 601 the gift card or prepaid card information is input through the swap service 105 user interface as described elsewhere herein. At 602, based on that information, the swap service 105 facilitates validation of the card information by transmitting the gift card or prepaid card information, to an aggregator service, issuer of the card or the like for validation. After receiving validation at 603, the card information is encoded into a digital equivalent of the gift card at 604 which at 605 may be stored on the consumer device 104. The digital equivalent may be retrieved on demand. At 606, the routine ends.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a routine 700 for a method of using a digital equivalent for payment. At 701, the digital equivalent is retrieved. At 702, the digital equivalent is presented or transmitted for use in payment. In the case of a bar code, the bar code is rendered on the consumer device and scanned. In other embodiments, the digital equivalent may be presented or transmitted by other means, including, but not limited to, radio frequency identification (RFID), near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth low energy (BLE), wireless network, personal area network (PAN), other computer network, or other transmission of card information at point-of-sale. At 703, the updated value of the digital equivalent is requested from and at 704 the updated value is received. At 705, the updated value is stored. At 706, the routine ends.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a routine 800 for a method of facilitating interaction between a merchant and user via correspondence is sent to the consumer device 104. Correspondence may include, without limitation, a marketing message, a reminder to use the card balance, one or more of a coupon, an advertisement, an offer of a discount, an informational message, notification of nearby locations where value can be redeemed, and additional functionality. Additional functionality may include a merchant's offer to support transfer into new or existing stored value accounts, support of incentives for transferring value via the swap service, re-gifting a card to a single friend or multiple friends, use the funds on a gift card to purchase a gift card and electronically send to a recipient, and to donate value from a gift card to a charity. The correspondence and its content can also be governed, at least in part, by the merchant's rules. In one embodiment of the innovation, at 801, the swap service 105 is prompted to access information by a triggering event. Such information may include, but is not limited to, transaction parameters associated with the transaction in progress, geographic location, historical transaction data, personal data, a merchant identification code that uniquely identifies a merchant, or user account data. Triggering events may include, without limitation, an ongoing transaction, geographic location, reloading of an account, or any other use or access to a particular account. At 802, the swap service 105 provides information via the consumer device 104 to the Remote System 102 with instructions, based on inputted card information, for the Remote System 102 to contact the appropriate merchant. At 804, the routine ends. Based on the received information, the merchant may then send correspondence to the user via SMS text, MMS text, email or any other means by which a message can be sent to a consumer device. The foregoing scenario is merely one example of how user information can be used to generate correspondence. Those skilled in the applicable art will see many other applications for the features and capabilities described herein.

All publications and patents cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments and certain working examples, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Various modifications and variations of the described methods and systems of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: accessing a swap service operating on a consumer device, wherein the swap service is configured to perform: authenticating a user of the consumer device based on biometric information of the user, wherein the biometric information is linked to a unique user identification code, and wherein the unique user identification code is associated with contact information regarding the user; retrieving, from storage, the contact information regarding the user based on the unique user identification code; automatically populating first fields of the swap service with at least some of the contact information; generating, for utilization during a transaction by the swap service, a request for first account information on a display of the consumer device, wherein the first account information is associated with a gift card, and wherein the request includes a prompt for the user of the consumer device to select inputting the first account information by one of (i) manually by the user, or (ii) scanning by the consumer device; receiving a selection for the inputting; and when selection is the scanning: displaying a scanner for obtaining, from the gift card, a digital representation of the first account information; obtaining the digital representation of the first account information via the scanner; determining the first account information is valid; in response to determining the first account information is valid, encoding the first account information into a digital equivalent of the gift card; and storing the digital equivalent of the gift card in memory associated with the consumer device.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprises: obtaining second account information regarding a second account, wherein the second account is one of: a bank account, a credit card account, a debit card account, an open loop card account, a closed loop card account, a brokerage account, and a crypto currency account.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second account information is inputted by one or more of: voice commands, extraction of information from a photo or video using optical character recognition, via near field communication, via Bluetooth low energy, and via a radio frequency identification (RFID) communication.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein when the selection is the manually by the user, generating for display on the display, a keyboard and input fields for receiving the first account information.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprises: monitoring for a triggering event; and when the triggering event is detected: obtaining a merchant identification code that uniquely identifies a merchant; obtaining the contact information associated with the user from the memory; and sending the contact information to a merchant computer associated with the merchant to facilitate correspondence from the merchant computer, wherein the correspondence is one or more of: a coupon, an offer of a discount, a reminder to use a remaining card balance associated with the gift card, and a notification of nearby merchant locations associated with the merchant computer where the gift card is redeemable.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the triggering event includes one or more of: a geographic location of the consumer device; an ongoing transaction associated with the gift card; a reloading of the gift card; and accessing of a gift card account regarding the gift card.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the correspondence further comprises: an incentive for transferring value via the swap service; an offer to transfer gift card to another user; an offer to transfer gift card to multiple other users; an offer to donate remaining balance of gift card to a charity; and an offer to purchase another gift card.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the biometric information comprises one or more of: a fingerprint; a handprint; facial recognition; an iris scan; and a retina scan.
 9. The method of claim 1 further comprises: generating, for utilization during the transaction by the swap service, a request for second account information on the touch screen of the consumer device, wherein the second account is associated with a second gift card, and wherein the request includes a second prompt for the user of the consumer device to select inputting the second account information by one of (i) manually by the user, or (ii) scanning by the consumer device; receiving a second selection for the inputting; and when selection is the scanning: displaying the scanner for obtaining, from the second gift card, a second digital representation of the second account information; obtaining the second digital representation of the second account information via the scanner; determining the second account information is valid; in response to determining the second account information is valid, encoding the second account information into a second digital equivalent of the second gift card; and storing the second digital equivalent of the second gift card in memory associated with the consumer device.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprises: generating, for utilization during a transaction by the swap service, a request for second account information on the display of the consumer device; receiving an identification of the second account information; when the second account information is associated with the user, retrieving the contact information from a cache of the consumer device; and automatically populating second fields of the swap service with at least some of the contact information.
 11. A non-transitory computer readable memory comprising: computer code that directs a swap service operating on a consumer device to perform: authenticating a user of the consumer device based on biometric information of the user, wherein the biometric information is linked to a unique user identification code, and wherein the unique user identification code is associated with contact information regarding the user; retrieving, from storage, the contact information regarding the user based on the unique user identification code; automatically populating first fields of the swap service with at least some of the contact information; generating, for utilization during a transaction by the swap service, a request for first account information on a display of the consumer device, wherein the first account information is associated with a gift card, and wherein the request includes a prompt for the user of the consumer device to select inputting the first account information by one of (i) manually by the user, or (ii) scanning by the consumer device; receiving a selection for the inputting; and when selection is the scanning: displaying a scanner for obtaining, from the gift card, a digital representation of the first account information; obtaining the digital representation of the first account information via the scanner; determining the first account information is valid; in response to determining the first account information is valid, encoding the first account information into a digital equivalent of the gift card; and storing the digital equivalent of the gift card in memory associated with the consumer device.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 11, wherein the computer code directs the swap service operating on the consumer device to further perform: obtaining second account information regarding a second account, wherein the second account is one of: a bank account, a credit card account, a debit card account, an open loop card account, a closed loop card account, a brokerage account, and a crypto currency account.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 12, wherein the second account information is inputted by one or more of: voice commands, extraction of information from a photo or video using optical character recognition, via near field communication, via Bluetooth low energy, and via a radio frequency identification (RFID) communication.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 11, wherein when the selection is the manually by the user, the computer code directs the swap service operating on the consumer device to further perform generating for display on the display, a keyboard and input fields for receiving the first account information.
 15. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 11, wherein the computer code directs the swap service operating on the consumer device to further perform: monitoring for a triggering event; and when the triggering event is detected: obtaining a merchant identification code that uniquely identifies a merchant; obtaining the contact information associated with the user from the memory; and sending the contact information to a merchant computer associated with the merchant to facilitate correspondence from the merchant computer, wherein the correspondence is one or more of: a coupon, an offer of a discount, a reminder to use a remaining card balance associated with the gift card, and a notification of nearby merchant locations associated with the merchant computer where the gift card is redeemable.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 15, wherein the triggering event includes one or more of: a geographic location of the consumer device; an ongoing transaction associated with the gift card; a reloading of the gift card; and accessing of a gift card account regarding the gift card.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 15, wherein the correspondence further comprises: an incentive for transferring value via the swap service; an offer to transfer gift card to another user; an offer to transfer gift card to multiple other users; an offer to donate remaining balance of gift card to a charity; and an offer to purchase another gift card.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 11, wherein the biometric information comprises one or more of: a fingerprint; a handprint; facial recognition; an iris scan; and a retina scan.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 11, wherein the computer code directs the swap service further to perform: generating, for utilization during the transaction by the swap service, a request for second account information on the touch screen of the consumer device, wherein the second account is associated with a second gift card, and wherein the request includes a second prompt for the user of the consumer device to select inputting the second account information by one of (i) manually by the user, or (ii) scanning by the consumer device; receiving a second selection for the inputting; and when selection is the scanning: displaying the scanner for obtaining, from the second gift card, a second digital representation of the second account information; obtaining the second digital representation of the second account information via the scanner; determining the second account information is valid; in response to determining the second account information is valid, encoding the second account information into a second digital equivalent of the second gift card; and storing the second digital equivalent of the second gift card in memory associated with the consumer device.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 11, wherein the computer code directs the swap service further to perform: generating, for utilization during a transaction by the swap service, a request for second account information on the display of the consumer device; receiving an identification of the second account information; when the second account information is associated with the user, retrieving the contact information from a cache of the consumer device; and automatically populating second fields of the swap service with at least some of the contact information. 